Dave Limina

"I do pretty much the Hammond organ classes. Piano players have to get used to some things when they try the organ: playing left-hand bass, playing foot-pedal bass, dealing with the organ as a non-touch-sensitive instrument. They also have to deal with the fact that they have to play a lot of finger legato because there's no damper pedal, there's no sustain. The only means of controlling the dynamics is with an expression pedal. Those are some of the biggest adjustments you have to make."

"I like to stress practical skills like playing the right thing for the right situation, and I also teach different styles because being able to cover a wide range of styles will make you marketable as a player. I stress playing with good time, good phrasing, and not overplaying. One of the biggest lessons I give them from my own real-life experience is that a gig usually isn't about highlighting yourself; it's more about functioning in an ensemble and playing your part. They have to learn how to play in a band, and Berklee's a great place to do that."

"Some students think that if they just go to all their classes and do what they're supposed to do for them, that's going to get them to the next level. And I try to tell them that it takes way, way, way more than that. Some of them think that if they put in their two or three hours a week, then they should be improving, but they don't know that that's not going to get them there. Sometimes they wonder why they're not getting to the next level, and I ask them what their practicing situation is like, and that's usually where the problem is. I try to tell them that you have live and breathe this stuff."